I googled the normal business hours and when I drove there I found it was closed. Really speechless.
Ciel Tran
Everything was delicious! Prices are reasonable so you get to sample a bunch of things if you want. There's a wait if you go in at lunch time but it's worth it. I want to go back and try different things :)
I’m surprised there are so few dim sum places in Dallas. With that in mind, this is an okay dim sum place. They have a small menu with okay service.It gets pretty busy around 12pm on a weekend. So come earlier like 11am and you’ll get a seat right away.I personally prefer cart service dim sum, not this place’s menu. You tick off items on a menu.And their menu is quite small. They don’t have plain cheung fun (rice noodles) for example. Some of their items are a bit strange like fried turnip cake with XO sauce. The fried turnip is cut into small cubes, not a large slab like I’m used to. They also have sesame balls but with lava custard inside not sesame or red bean paste. They do have the classics like har gao (shrimp dumplings) and siu mai (pork dumplings). And some of the items like lava custard buns and vegetarian cheung fun were sold out, which is strange given how early we were there.Service wise, they’re just okay. It took a while to get people’s attention, and they weren’t super busy. The server robots are cool, but they don’t seem to be used for dim sum which is served by hand like at other sit down restaurants.Overall, it’s okay. I’d come back purely because it’s close and because there aren’t many dim sum options in Dallas.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Dim Sum
Steven R.
I'd say it was pretty good overall, but there are definitely some issues that warrant attention on their part if they want to be successful. I overheard one employee (maybe the manager) on the phone saying things are slow and it has been hard, which makes sense based on what I saw. It was what should have been a busy lunch day for them but my table was one of two there when we arrived, and the woman at the other table actually abandoned her water/sauces and left the restaurant before she ordered.My thinking with hot pot places is that you can either cater more to the Asian market or to the American market, but not effectively to both. I was at a different one last week that was very Asian oriented. I could not identify 90% of the items in the pot and they could tell me nothing about what sort of meat they use; they only had "beef" and "fatty beef" options for beef, but could not tell me what cut it was. It didn't taste like any beef I have ever had. There were a lot of tastes and textures I was not familiar with and didn't particularly like. That's just personal preference, not indicative of quality, but it's important to know that people who are not accustomed to those tastes and textures may not respond as well to them. That particular place, I would not return to.Chao's Beef Hotpot is much closer to the mark on catering to the American market. The menu makes sense. I know what meat I'm ordering. The ribeye looked nicely marbled. The $1 promotional beef plate was awesome. Food-wise, we were all satisfied.Where I think Chao's misses the mark is twofold:1) Service -- The only person we interacted with in the restaurant was someone who spoke passable English but was difficult to understand. No problem at all with people speaking their own languages, but when you're having a new experience (which many American who wander into a hot pot place are), it's hard enough to understand what's going on even without a language barrier and having to strain a little to understand someone. They would benefit from having some staff who can communicate effortlessly with English-speaking clientele.There was also no explanation of how things work there and they have no literature or signage. It's like they just assume that everyone who goes in there knows what they are doing, which is not the case for most people. So I had to be the person who explained it to the other 3 people I was with. No one had any idea what all the different bowls and spoons are for or what the right etiquette is or why there was a metal thing in the pot. So many different sauces at the sauce bar: which ones mix well together or go with which foods?Pricing is my last gripe, though at this place with the promo it happens to be extremely reasonable and it's great that 4 people can share one pot, which is very economical. But I hate the idea of a la carte charges for sauces and vegetables. My favorite hot pot place in Richardson charges a fixed price per person for the stock and you have to select 1 protein so you're in for like $18/person, but you have unlimited sauces and vegetables. On an a la carte offering it seems nuts to pay $5 for a plate of cabbage or $5 for some mushrooms. And the assorted vegetables at Chao's for $8 is fine but includes a lot of stuff that was more spriggy than leafy and didn't feel like it made sense in a pot.Overall I think Chao's COULD become very successful, but they will need to work on the communication with customers and be more thoughtful about the customer experience. Remember that a lot of your target market is people who are in the surrounding offices or wandered over to the urgent care or saw it driving by and have no clue what they are doing here. Having a friendly face ready to greet them and explain how things work and help them have a good experience will go a long way.The fact that you had a customer in there just sitting there who ended up walking out before she ordered was a missed opportunity; who knows how many people
Joshua Davila
The attendant was rude. On a Friday night he refused to prepare a dinner order. He said that the owner didn't do pick up orders. That's a lot of business they are losing but not only did I have a hard time understanding him, he was a rude disgruntled worker. What's the point of being open on Christmas or Thanksgiving if you cannot prepare take out orders. I'll take my business somewhere else..
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Lindsay Pan
WORST dining experience in Dallas. Had to wait to seat till front desk finished her call and no menu served. We had to search around ourselves in the restaurant for menu. They completely forgot one of my orders and told us they could not make another one. DO NOT COME.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Kit Ho
dim sum definitely best of Dallas, authentic. best dish is the shrimp noodle roll, thin wrap with big shrimp and veggies dipping in sweet soy sauce.only thing its quite pricey , almost double compared to other dim sum places.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dim Sum
Jere Pika
Still terrible service as always ?And they charge you 20% tips for the non-existent service.The only reason I kept coming here is that they are the only restaurant who makes Crab Porridge in DFW.Now they stop making seafood porridge anymore!!!No reason to come here anymore, I would rather just drive to Houston for Seafood Porridge.
Ella McNulty
Very good food, though the siu mai looked a bit strange. The atmosphere was a bit awkward and extremely quiet. No wait unlike Kirin Court. If you like dim sum, this is a good place, but there are definitely better dim sum options available.
Lee
Don't know what these other reviews are talking about, this place is definitely not a world class Dim Sum joint. Food was mediocre at best. Our server didn't want to be there and was very curt and forgot some of our items.They use wooden steamer baskets! Eww the amount of bacteria that can get in those books and crannies is outrageous! Definitely a health code violation.What kind of respectable dim sum place doesn't have MSG in the food!!! MSG is wonderful and delicious, only stereotyping people don't want MSG. It's scientifically proven to be no worse than salt. But this stigma about it continues.
Spareribs were greasy, gristly & fatty, not appetizing at all. Xiao long bao was ok, the skin was a bit thick. The congee was fine, nothing memorable. Service was non-existent.
Alice L.
Spareribs were greasy, gristly & fatty, not appetizing at all. Xiao long bao was ok, the skin was a bit thick. The congee was fine, nothing memorable. Service was non-existent.
Cathy K.
Food - The Crispy Shrimp Balls and the Egg Tarts were excellent. The signature Shrimp dumplings and Chicken pot Stickers were just okay. They seemed like they needed a sauce or something to add a bit more flavor. I will come back for the first two items I mentioned. Ambiance - They have a robot waiter which is always fun. The ambiance is fine, we have come to this same location for the prior two restaurants and it has not changed much - clean, bright and comfortable. Service - Our waitress did not speak English, so she could not make recommendations, so I googled and found a few recommended items.
Leyla T.
Great place! We came on a Sunday afternoon brunch time. It wasn't cray busy. We got seated right away. Clean Facility. Service was very attentive. Food was mostly great!The not so great was their indo-fried rice. They use way too much curry powder. We took the leftovers home and added more white rice to mix it. Otherwise, great! Will come back!
Steven T.
In summary, Li Min Dim Sum is a relatively busy establishment with impressive dishes that check the boxes for taste, texture, and detail but also tries to match how hard they hit with the bill.Definitely falls in the "average looks" in terms of establishments that I've been to for Dim Sum. I'm intrigued by the wooden "steamed boxes" they're using, so thats a positive. If you've read one of my reviews for Dim sum before, you guys know that I firmly stand by what I say about judging places' quality based on the execution of their Har gao/shrimp dumplings, and I'm proud to say that theory still holds true. Their Har Gao is slightly sticky, easy to peel from the serving plate, firm in its shape but soft and slightly gummy on the chew, and is definitely above average in terms of looks (and I am so sad and so sorry that I didn't get a picture for you guys). It's a great Har Gao and you would be missing out if you didn't get it. Solid Xiu Mai.I think service could definitely be better. They seem to be short on waiters and you'd be lucky to even find one sometimes. I hear getting an English speaking server can be an issue sometimes and I do validate what other reviewers have said on that note.If I remember correctly, I paid my bill up at the front because it was "so busy," but possibly understaffed.Bang for buck, Is it worth it? Hard maybe; I want to give it a 3.5... but definitely don't want to round up to a 4. I think if the service was really good, their price could be justified and an easy bump to a 4-star. But I could easily find myself going somewhere slightly subpar and save 30-40% of my wallet. Plus. I live in Houston, TX, so perhaps it's not a fair reference for Dallas locals, but hey, woah, chill--I said it's one of the better Dim Sum places I've eaten at.I wish I could try more of my usual favorite dishes and give a more detailed review but our scope was limited to try and accommodate a new guest in our party so I couldn't go too, too crazy.P.S. Ambiance was... fine? The tables are not too close, so conversation was easy to maintain without having to yell. Tables and booths aren't anything to fawn over, but the food looks and tastes great.Cheers from HTX.
I googled the normal business hours and when I drove there I found it was closed. Really speechless.
Everything was delicious! Prices are reasonable so you get to sample a bunch of things if you want. There's a wait if you go in at lunch time but it's worth it. I want to go back and try different things :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Feet in Oyster Sauce 蚝皇凤爪, Egg Tartsp, Xiaolongbao
I’m surprised there are so few dim sum places in Dallas. With that in mind, this is an okay dim sum place. They have a small menu with okay service.It gets pretty busy around 12pm on a weekend. So come earlier like 11am and you’ll get a seat right away.I personally prefer cart service dim sum, not this place’s menu. You tick off items on a menu.And their menu is quite small. They don’t have plain cheung fun (rice noodles) for example. Some of their items are a bit strange like fried turnip cake with XO sauce. The fried turnip is cut into small cubes, not a large slab like I’m used to. They also have sesame balls but with lava custard inside not sesame or red bean paste. They do have the classics like har gao (shrimp dumplings) and siu mai (pork dumplings). And some of the items like lava custard buns and vegetarian cheung fun were sold out, which is strange given how early we were there.Service wise, they’re just okay. It took a while to get people’s attention, and they weren’t super busy. The server robots are cool, but they don’t seem to be used for dim sum which is served by hand like at other sit down restaurants.Overall, it’s okay. I’d come back purely because it’s close and because there aren’t many dim sum options in Dallas.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Dim Sum
I'd say it was pretty good overall, but there are definitely some issues that warrant attention on their part if they want to be successful. I overheard one employee (maybe the manager) on the phone saying things are slow and it has been hard, which makes sense based on what I saw. It was what should have been a busy lunch day for them but my table was one of two there when we arrived, and the woman at the other table actually abandoned her water/sauces and left the restaurant before she ordered.My thinking with hot pot places is that you can either cater more to the Asian market or to the American market, but not effectively to both. I was at a different one last week that was very Asian oriented. I could not identify 90% of the items in the pot and they could tell me nothing about what sort of meat they use; they only had "beef" and "fatty beef" options for beef, but could not tell me what cut it was. It didn't taste like any beef I have ever had. There were a lot of tastes and textures I was not familiar with and didn't particularly like. That's just personal preference, not indicative of quality, but it's important to know that people who are not accustomed to those tastes and textures may not respond as well to them. That particular place, I would not return to.Chao's Beef Hotpot is much closer to the mark on catering to the American market. The menu makes sense. I know what meat I'm ordering. The ribeye looked nicely marbled. The $1 promotional beef plate was awesome. Food-wise, we were all satisfied.Where I think Chao's misses the mark is twofold:1) Service -- The only person we interacted with in the restaurant was someone who spoke passable English but was difficult to understand. No problem at all with people speaking their own languages, but when you're having a new experience (which many American who wander into a hot pot place are), it's hard enough to understand what's going on even without a language barrier and having to strain a little to understand someone. They would benefit from having some staff who can communicate effortlessly with English-speaking clientele.There was also no explanation of how things work there and they have no literature or signage. It's like they just assume that everyone who goes in there knows what they are doing, which is not the case for most people. So I had to be the person who explained it to the other 3 people I was with. No one had any idea what all the different bowls and spoons are for or what the right etiquette is or why there was a metal thing in the pot. So many different sauces at the sauce bar: which ones mix well together or go with which foods?Pricing is my last gripe, though at this place with the promo it happens to be extremely reasonable and it's great that 4 people can share one pot, which is very economical. But I hate the idea of a la carte charges for sauces and vegetables. My favorite hot pot place in Richardson charges a fixed price per person for the stock and you have to select 1 protein so you're in for like $18/person, but you have unlimited sauces and vegetables. On an a la carte offering it seems nuts to pay $5 for a plate of cabbage or $5 for some mushrooms. And the assorted vegetables at Chao's for $8 is fine but includes a lot of stuff that was more spriggy than leafy and didn't feel like it made sense in a pot.Overall I think Chao's COULD become very successful, but they will need to work on the communication with customers and be more thoughtful about the customer experience. Remember that a lot of your target market is people who are in the surrounding offices or wandered over to the urgent care or saw it driving by and have no clue what they are doing here. Having a friendly face ready to greet them and explain how things work and help them have a good experience will go a long way.The fact that you had a customer in there just sitting there who ended up walking out before she ordered was a missed opportunity; who knows how many people
The attendant was rude. On a Friday night he refused to prepare a dinner order. He said that the owner didn't do pick up orders. That's a lot of business they are losing but not only did I have a hard time understanding him, he was a rude disgruntled worker. What's the point of being open on Christmas or Thanksgiving if you cannot prepare take out orders. I'll take my business somewhere else..
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
WORST dining experience in Dallas. Had to wait to seat till front desk finished her call and no menu served. We had to search around ourselves in the restaurant for menu. They completely forgot one of my orders and told us they could not make another one. DO NOT COME.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
dim sum definitely best of Dallas, authentic. best dish is the shrimp noodle roll, thin wrap with big shrimp and veggies dipping in sweet soy sauce.only thing its quite pricey , almost double compared to other dim sum places.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dim Sum
Still terrible service as always ?And they charge you 20% tips for the non-existent service.The only reason I kept coming here is that they are the only restaurant who makes Crab Porridge in DFW.Now they stop making seafood porridge anymore!!!No reason to come here anymore, I would rather just drive to Houston for Seafood Porridge.
Very good food, though the siu mai looked a bit strange. The atmosphere was a bit awkward and extremely quiet. No wait unlike Kirin Court. If you like dim sum, this is a good place, but there are definitely better dim sum options available.
Don't know what these other reviews are talking about, this place is definitely not a world class Dim Sum joint. Food was mediocre at best. Our server didn't want to be there and was very curt and forgot some of our items.They use wooden steamer baskets! Eww the amount of bacteria that can get in those books and crannies is outrageous! Definitely a health code violation.What kind of respectable dim sum place doesn't have MSG in the food!!! MSG is wonderful and delicious, only stereotyping people don't want MSG. It's scientifically proven to be no worse than salt. But this stigma about it continues.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
Spareribs were greasy, gristly & fatty, not appetizing at all. Xiao long bao was ok, the skin was a bit thick. The congee was fine, nothing memorable. Service was non-existent.
Spareribs were greasy, gristly & fatty, not appetizing at all. Xiao long bao was ok, the skin was a bit thick. The congee was fine, nothing memorable. Service was non-existent.
Food - The Crispy Shrimp Balls and the Egg Tarts were excellent. The signature Shrimp dumplings and Chicken pot Stickers were just okay. They seemed like they needed a sauce or something to add a bit more flavor. I will come back for the first two items I mentioned. Ambiance - They have a robot waiter which is always fun. The ambiance is fine, we have come to this same location for the prior two restaurants and it has not changed much - clean, bright and comfortable. Service - Our waitress did not speak English, so she could not make recommendations, so I googled and found a few recommended items.
Great place! We came on a Sunday afternoon brunch time. It wasn't cray busy. We got seated right away. Clean Facility. Service was very attentive. Food was mostly great!The not so great was their indo-fried rice. They use way too much curry powder. We took the leftovers home and added more white rice to mix it. Otherwise, great! Will come back!
In summary, Li Min Dim Sum is a relatively busy establishment with impressive dishes that check the boxes for taste, texture, and detail but also tries to match how hard they hit with the bill.Definitely falls in the "average looks" in terms of establishments that I've been to for Dim Sum. I'm intrigued by the wooden "steamed boxes" they're using, so thats a positive. If you've read one of my reviews for Dim sum before, you guys know that I firmly stand by what I say about judging places' quality based on the execution of their Har gao/shrimp dumplings, and I'm proud to say that theory still holds true. Their Har Gao is slightly sticky, easy to peel from the serving plate, firm in its shape but soft and slightly gummy on the chew, and is definitely above average in terms of looks (and I am so sad and so sorry that I didn't get a picture for you guys). It's a great Har Gao and you would be missing out if you didn't get it. Solid Xiu Mai.I think service could definitely be better. They seem to be short on waiters and you'd be lucky to even find one sometimes. I hear getting an English speaking server can be an issue sometimes and I do validate what other reviewers have said on that note.If I remember correctly, I paid my bill up at the front because it was "so busy," but possibly understaffed.Bang for buck, Is it worth it? Hard maybe; I want to give it a 3.5... but definitely don't want to round up to a 4. I think if the service was really good, their price could be justified and an easy bump to a 4-star. But I could easily find myself going somewhere slightly subpar and save 30-40% of my wallet. Plus. I live in Houston, TX, so perhaps it's not a fair reference for Dallas locals, but hey, woah, chill--I said it's one of the better Dim Sum places I've eaten at.I wish I could try more of my usual favorite dishes and give a more detailed review but our scope was limited to try and accommodate a new guest in our party so I couldn't go too, too crazy.P.S. Ambiance was... fine? The tables are not too close, so conversation was easy to maintain without having to yell. Tables and booths aren't anything to fawn over, but the food looks and tastes great.Cheers from HTX.